I read it cover to cover during my Thanksgiving holiday with my family in Las Vegas and highly recommend it.

“Forbidden City, USA” is the culmination of Arthur Dong’s nearly thirty-year devotion to the topic of Chinese American nightclubs, originally inspired by his research for his documentary of the same name. I first met Arthur when he came to New York to interview dancer turned manager of Asian American talent Jadin Wong (my former manager) for the documentary. The tome is Dong’s virtual love letter to those who paved the way and made their mark for today’s Asian American performing artists.

Previously unpublished personal stories, along with over four hundred stunning images and rare artifacts, are presented in this “sexy and insightful chronicle” of Asian American performers who defied racial and cultural barriers to pursue their showbiz dreams.

In the mid-1930s Prohibition had been repealed and the Great Depression was waning. With a global conflict on the rise, people were out to drink, dine, dance, and see a show to forget their woes—and an emerging generation of Chinese American entertainers commanded the stage in their own nightclubs. “Forbidden City, USA” reveals the sassy, daring, and sometimes heartbreaking first-hand accounts of the dancers, singers, and producers who lived this story, and weaves in a fascinating collection of photos, postcards, menus, programs, and even souvenir chopsticks. Together they recreate a forgotten era, taking readers on a dazzling tour of the old “Chop Suey Circuit.”
The slideshow below features Contemporary photographs taken by Arthur Dong during the making of his documentary, alongside vintage glamour promotional images.

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Dong’s previously published works as editor and contributing writer include the exhibition catalogues for shows that he also curated: “Chop Suey on Wax: The Flower Drum Song Album” at the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum in, San Francisco and “Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection” at the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles.

Arthur Dong

As a film student at San Francisco State University, Arthur Dong produced “Sewing Woman,” his Academy Award nominated short documentary in 1984. The film focused on his mother’s immigration to America from China. Instead of finding an outside distributer for the film, Dong then started his own company, DeepFocus Productions, and serves as its producer, director and writer. Dong has produced, directed, written, edited, and ﬁlmed independent ﬁlms on social issues such as gay rights and the Chinese American experience. He has gone on to produce many other highly praised films including “Coming Out Under Fire,” winner of the Peabody Award in 1995. A two-time Rockefeller Media Arts Fellow as well as a Guggenheim Fellow in Film, Dong has served on the boards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Film Independent, OutFest, and the National Film Preservation Board at the Library of Congress. In addition to the 1995 Peabody Award for his highly praised film “Coming Out Under Fire,” he honors include three Sundance Film Festival awards, an Oscar nomination, the Berlin Film Festival’s Teddy Award, Taipei’s Golden Horse Award, a GLAAD Media Award, and ﬁve Emmy nominations.